Starting last week, all new users installing Firefox for the first time will automatically block cookies from companies that Disconnect has identified as trackers. And over the next couple months, all existing Firefox users will have this

Starting last week, all new users installing Firefox for the first time will automatically block cookies from companies that Disconnect has identified as trackers. And over the next couple months, all existing Firefox users will have this privacy feature automatically turned on. You can read more about this on the Mozilla blog.

At Disconnect we are all about making privacy the default (the preselected option), because we know that most users never dive into their settings to switch things up. So Firefox's decision to protect everyone from tracking cookies without putting the burden on their users to do anything is a huge win for internet privacy and we are super proud that the team at Firefox have chosen to rely on our tracker protection list!

When Disconnect first started our goal was to create technologies that helped protect the privacy of all internet users, not just those who could afford to pay or who know why privacy is important. It is simply amazing that our small team now powers better privacy for over 350 million monthly active users, including people who use Disconnect's award winning apps as well as people who use Firefox and other popular products that integrate our tracker protection. And although we are humbled and excited by what we've accomplished, after a proper celebration, we can't wait to start working on pushing for even more privacy protection in the browser and across the entire device.

So please keep an eye out here for what's next and follow our progress on Twitter, or reach out to us anytime at support@disconnect.me!

]]>We block trackers that invisibly track you

Our iOS Privacy Pro product not only protects you from unwanted tracking and encrypts your insecure connections, it gives you a peek into the tracking that happens on your phone or tablet.

Our CTO Patrick Jackson was the reporter's guide to the secret life of his iPhone - he called Patrick the "data breaker"! What Patrick showed the world, wasn't a surprise to us, but the results have been pretty eye-opening for many. On the reporter's phone:

Many popular apps - including Microsoft OneDrive, Intuit’s Mint, Nike, Spotify, The Washington Post and IBM’s the Weather Channel - were tracking the reporter's data even when he was asleep!

We recorded 5,400 hidden app trackers in a single week.

We also discovered that tracking requests wasted 1.5 gigabytes of data in a month.

Several popular apps had embedded tracking that the users and even the app developers(!) would never know about without a tool like ours.

In the article, Patrick stated Disconnect's view perfectly.

“This is your data. Why should it even leave your phone? Why should it be collected by someone when you don’t know what they’re going to do with it?” says Patrick Jackson, a former National Security Agency researcher who is chief technology officer for Disconnect. He hooked my iPhone into special software so we could examine the traffic. “I know the value of data, and I don’t want mine in any hands where it doesn’t need to be,” he told me.

Super excited to launch a new feature in our iOS Privacy Pro app that gives you the power to very easily block whatever you want.

Your very own easy to use firewall

Our mission has always been to put our users in control of their privacy. Privacy Pro for iOS has been a truly revolutionary app that acts as a firewall to block network traffic based on Disconnect's tracker protection rule set.

Our default protection strikes a balance between privacy and usability. Most users like that Disconnect manages the tracker protection list and are happy to trust the default. But we have been getting feedback for years from users who want to set their own rules and block or unblock whatever they want.

Prior to today, the process of adding custom rules was, well, pretty much just for geeks like us. Now, with the addition of popular customizations and a brand new user-friendly interface, we make it easy to dial up or down your protection level.

Never use any Facebook services? Try adding Facebook.com to the blocklist and see how they like it! We make it easy to experiment with our Popular Customizations and you can always reset to our default protection, which seeks a balance between privacy and usability.

]]>ANYONE with network access (ISPs, Big Brother, etc) knows the apps, videos, music, books, and other stuff you download through Apple and can trace that activity to hard unique identifiers for your device and Apple account

During development of our new iOS app (that makes it easy for you to see all the behind the scenes network traffic on your iPhone or iPad) we were shocked to discover that everyday thousands of background network requests were unencrypted. This means that your internet service provider (ISP), nation-states, or Wi-Fi snoopers can track all sorts of very personal details about your online activity.

We knew tons of websites and apps sent unencrypted traffic, but we were surprised to discover that Apple itself doesn't use TLS (Transport Layer Security) to encrypt the HTTP traffic to and from your iPhone or iPad. This means, for example, that every time you download or update an app from the App Store or content (music, movie, TV, etc.) from iTunes, it is sent in the clear over HTTP.

And even worse, each download / install from Apple includes unique hard identifiers like your device ID and DSID (destination signaling identifier) as HTTP headers in the clear.

Failing to encrypt these headers, permanently ties your activity to your device and you personally!

Of course all of this personal information sent unsecured is monetizeable data in the hands of Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Comcast, and other global ISPs. And yes we already know that Trump's 2017 repeal of privacy rules for ISPs effectively allowed US based ISPs to mine any HTTP traffic data including browsing history. We're sure these ISPs are very happy to have access to all of your Apple install / download information; this information says a lot about your politics, income, sexuality, and a whole lot more about who you are and what you do online and off.

The Apple privacy hole would also allow governments around the world with network access to easily track who installs what apps and potentially even to censor certain apps and content from being downloaded without having to bother Apple with a take down notice or subpoena. We don't know that this type of government censorship or surveillance is happening, but it is technically possible. So why doesn't Apple just fix this threat and support HTTPS for installs and downloads like they do for all of their user facing HTTPS web pages?

Apple's reply: this is expected behavior

We reached out to Apple through their Radar bug reporting system on September 20th to describe the issue. On September 24th, Apple developer relations told us that the behavior was "expected". We then reached out to Apple personally, but received no substantive reply.

For two months, we sat around scratching our heads trying to figure out why Apple would not just make the easy fix to secure a serious privacy threat to literally all of their billion plus active iPhone and iPad devices. We are still scratching our heads.

Apple clearly understands the privacy and security benefits of encrypted HTTP. They use TLS on all of their user facing web pages and assets. And since 2016 Apple has required its developers to use TLS (by default) in the apps in their App Store to protect users. So why is Apple not protecting all iPhone and iPad users globally from this serious privacy threat?

Without all the facts, we are left to theorize on why leaving this information unsecured might be good for Apple's business interests.

Quoting from the Wired article cited above: "iOS researcher Will Strafach says he thinks the setup serves a specific purpose. By sending the downloads themselves over plaintext HTTP instead of an encrypted connection, system administrators, especially in large enterprise environments, can create a sort of way station to cache large apps and files on their local network for faster distribution. That means they won't eat up bandwidth if the app, update, or other file is being downloaded over and over again onto numerous devices. If the connection were encrypted between Apple's servers and the devices, that stopover wouldn't be possible."

After looking into this, the enterprise install explanation doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. First, Apple requires a Mac to cache app installs on enterprise networks. Apple could easily use TLS and cache encrypted app and iTunes downloads the same way they already encrypt content like your iCloud photos. Apple's own documentation makes this clear:

"iCloud caching stores the files users have in iCloud, such as Pages or Numbers documents.

All cached iCloud content is received, stored, and transmitted encrypted, and the content cache does not have the ability to decrypt it."

So why does Apple need to send unencrypted apps, music, videos, and more from it's own servers to its own software just to cache? The answer seems to be that Apple doesn't have to do this and could easily figure out a way not to send this unencrypted traffic

Second, an estimated +95% of Apple's billion plus active devices will never use a caching server, so why subject all these users to an easily fixable and serious privacy threat?

Hard for us to imagine that Apple would allow this privacy threat to exist for personal gain (e.g., a data sharing agreement with ISPs) or to sneakily avoid thorny government policy issues (e.g., creating a loophole for surveillance and censorship without having to get directly involved), but without more information from Apple we are left wondering what gives.

Our new iOS app protects against this privacy threat

The new Disconnect Pro for iOS is our best app yet and protects you from the threats described above by encrypting all HTTP requests, including app installs and iTunes downloads. Read more about our iOS Pro app [include link]. Or install the app for free.

]]>We built this product to give you transparency and control, but what we discovered is making headlines

We are so excited to announce the launch of our new iOS Disconnect Pro app. While making this app we discovered a serious privacy threat that effects all Apple iPhone and iPad users.

]]>https://blog.disconnect.me/new-product-uncovers-major-apple-privacy-issue/50f04183-2896-4357-9db9-645b7344b594Mon, 03 Dec 2018 00:24:26 GMTWe built this product to give you transparency and control, but what we discovered is making headlines

The TLDR version is that Apple is choosing to not encrypt app installs and content downloads, which allows anyone with network access like your ISP (Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, etc), governments, or Wi-Fi snoopers to keep track of this private information and associate it with your unique device and iTunes account identifiers! The puzzling thing is that Apple could fix this issue very easily, and clearly recognizes importance of encryption, but chooses to instead subject all it's users to this privacy threat.

Our new Pro iOS app protects you from the Apple privacy issue and offers amazing free privacy and performance benefits

We've been working on the technology powering our new Pro app since 2013. We call it a SmartVPN, which is not super creative but totally accurate! This new VPN technology keeps your sensitive information private without slowing you down or interfering with your online activity. We've included more detailed info below, but benefits include:

Encrypt all your web (HTTP) traffic

Encrypt all your DNS lookups

Block any tracker you want

Way faster and cheaper than traditional VPNs

No logging, no data collection, and we don't serve ads

Free version is awesome!

Even though we only make money when you pay for our products, we just love giving away protection for free and the free version of this app is loaded with previously paid and brand new features. If you care about your privacy there is absolutely no good reason not to install this product immediately!

Device Wide Tracking Protection

Our tracker protection lists now power privacy for tens of millions of users in browsers including Firefox, Samsung, Brave, and Focus. Now the free version of Pro blocks trackers device wide, not just in one browser but across all your apps! These trackers violate your privacy, slow page loads, and waste bandwidth and battery life.

DNS Encryption

Our SmartVPN also encrypts all of your Domain Name System (DNS) lookups. DNS is the phonebook of the Internet, turning websites you visit into Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS servers are great because they eliminate the need for you to memorize the IP addresses of websites you visit, but unencrytped DNS lookups also are vulnerable to being tracked (along with your browsing history) by companies, criminals, and governments. Our SmartVPN fixes that by using encrypted DNS lookups provided by Cloudflare!

Block what you want

Our default protection strikes a balance between privacy and usability, but we are all about putting you in control! Disconnect Pro for iOS now allows you to block or unblock whatever you want! Never use any Facebook services? Try adding Facebook.com to the blocklist and see how they like it! Never want to see another Tweet embed, block Twitter.com. We make it easy to experiment and you can always reset to our default protection, which seeks a balance between privacy and usability.

This is what privacy looks like!

As mentioned above, our new Pro app also shows you all the connections being made to your device behind the scenes. Even our team of experienced privacy geeks were shocked to see the volume of trackers and unsecured traffic. Everyday the average user will see more than a thousand vulnerable HTTP and DNS connections, including those from Apple, and hundreds more tracking requests. We visualize all this information in easy to understand graphs and by showing you a real-time feed of all the connections being made.

Paid version, FREE trial

We need to make money, so we are charging a modest subscription — 50-75% less than popular VPNs — for the new Secure HTTP feature. Here's why you need this.

Your device loads thousands of unsecured HTTP connections everyday. HTTP connections are unencrypted and allow any information being sent — think passwords or credit card numbers — to be looked at and altered by third-parties, like privacy violating corporations, criminals, or governments. Many popular browsers recognize the threat posed by unencrypted HTTP connections and have taken steps to pressure websites to use encrypted HTTP (HTTPS), or to warn users when they visit a website that uses unencrypted HTTP. But what about the thousands of unencrypted HTTP connections made to your device everyday? We were shocked when we realized how much insecure traffic was firing on our iOS devices behind our backs and our paid Secure HTTP feature encrypts it all!

SmartVPN vs VPN

So what makes our VPN "smart"? Well, first of all, it's not that regular VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) are dumb, actually they are a very effective way to encrypt all your traffic, and to change your IP address, which makes it harder to track your online activity. But VPNs can really slow you down — it's physics, routing all your requests through an additional VPN server is an extra hop, which takes more time. VPNs also have a tendency to break things and even interfere with your internet connectivity. Finally, you really have to trust your VPN provider and their server hosting provider, because they are carrying all your traffic.

Our SmartVPN technology creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and our servers, just like a regular VPN. But instead of routing all your traffic our SmartVPN makes real time decisions and only routes traffic that is especially vulnerable to privacy and security threats to maximize your device protection and performance. If you're looking for a traditional VPN that encrypts and changes your IP address for all traffic, then checkout our Premium product which includes a traditional VPN, but if you're looking for an amazing FREE SmartVPN experience our new Pro iOS app is the one for you!

]]>We are excited to announce the launch of our all new Safari extension, which now comes packaged in our Premium Mac app. This change was prompted by the release of MacOS Mojave and Safari 12, which changes the way Safari extensions are built and can be installed.

The new all-in-one

]]>https://blog.disconnect.me/new-safari-content-blocker-in-premium-mac-app/de4dfcf5-d1ee-4675-8013-138043d80f73Wed, 03 Oct 2018 21:15:28 GMTWe are excited to announce the launch of our all new Safari extension, which now comes packaged in our Premium Mac app. This change was prompted by the release of MacOS Mojave and Safari 12, which changes the way Safari extensions are built and can be installed.

The new all-in-one Mac app is a great way for users to protect themselves from trackers in Safari for free, or to easily protect their entire Mac with our Premium features.

These vulnerabilities would allow unsophisticated hackers to change channels, play offensive content, turn up the volume, and take control of other remote control functions without having to be in physical proximity to the TVs.

More information about the disclosure and details about the vulnerabilities can be found here.

]]>Firefox conducted an extensive 19,000 user test to determine the impact of integrating our Tracking Protection into their browser. The results that came back, while no surprise to us, showed that Tracking Protection actually reduces problems within the browser! This of course is in addition to Tracking Protection making]]>https://blog.disconnect.me/improving-privacy-without-breaking-the-web/068eed03-a6a8-4334-8d00-2118d2f20701Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:10:00 GMTFirefox conducted an extensive 19,000 user test to determine the impact of integrating our Tracking Protection into their browser. The results that came back, while no surprise to us, showed that Tracking Protection actually reduces problems within the browser! This of course is in addition to Tracking Protection making browsing way way faster.]]>With the launch of Firefox Quantum, we teamed up with Mozilla and compared page load times between desktop versions of Chrome’s Incognito mode and Firefox Quantum’s Private Browsing, which has our Tracking Protection integrated. The TLDR version is that Firefox Quantum’s Private Browsing with Tracking Protection by]]>https://blog.disconnect.me/firefox-quantum-powered-by-disconnect-is-seriously-fast/e1953af9-5652-4a94-b8d5-3eb7ead616bbTue, 21 Nov 2017 00:07:00 GMTWith the launch of Firefox Quantum, we teamed up with Mozilla and compared page load times between desktop versions of Chrome’s Incognito mode and Firefox Quantum’s Private Browsing, which has our Tracking Protection integrated. The TLDR version is that Firefox Quantum’s Private Browsing with Tracking Protection by Disconnect loads pages 2.4x faster than Chrome in Incognito mode!

You can read the blog post and research we co-authored with Mozilla here.

]]>Browse faster, safer, and more privately

We're excited to announce that our tracking protection is now enabled by default in Secret Mode of the Samsung Internet browser!

Samsung calls the feature Tracker Blocking and this powerful privacy protection is available to all users as a built-in extension in version 6.

We're excited to announce that our tracking protection is now enabled by default in Secret Mode of the Samsung Internet browser!

Samsung calls the feature Tracker Blocking and this powerful privacy protection is available to all users as a built-in extension in version 6.2 of Samsung Internet. In addition to blocking thousands of unwanted trackers from invisibly tracking your online activity without your consent, our protection also speeds up browsing and reduces the amount of bandwidth your device consumes.

Here at Disconnect we believe when you use the internet your personal information should not be collected, used, or sold behind your back without your explicit consent. Making privacy the default is especially important when you enter into an "Incognito mode" where you reasonably expect your privacy to be protected.

]]>As of August 1st we will no longer be a Certified B Corporation. Our mission, labor, environmental and other corporate practices have not changed. At this time we simply are not in a position to dedicate the time and resources required to alter our legal documents and maintain our certification.]]>https://blog.disconnect.me/no-longer-a-b-corp/5f3c2868-67b5-4823-9ce5-c93d1c0bb155Sun, 30 Jul 2017 20:35:34 GMT

As of August 1st we will no longer be a Certified B Corporation. Our mission, labor, environmental and other corporate practices have not changed. At this time we simply are not in a position to dedicate the time and resources required to alter our legal documents and maintain our certification.

We remain extremely supportive of the B corp movement, which strives to align the interests of business with the interest of the greater society. We are proud to have been a certified B corporation since 2013 and hope to become a B corporation again in the future. Until that time, please know that our practices will continue to reflect the values of the B corp movement and we will strive to use our business as a force for good.

We hope this project ultimately makes it easier for end users to assess the digital safety of products and incentivizes developers to design products with better privacy and security safeguards. This project is vital to the future of consumer protection and urgently needed as the number of IoT products on the market explodes.

The Digital Standard is perfectly aligned with Disconnect’s mission to empower people to control their personal information. We believe the Digital Standard has great potential to positively impact consumer privacy and security and we're thrilled about this launch.

In partnership with Samsung, we're excited to launch a new privacy app exclusively for the Samsung Internet browser that allows Android users to control their privacy, experience faster page loads and use less bandwidth. And it's FREE!

In partnership with Samsung, we're excited to launch a new privacy app exclusively for the Samsung Internet browser that allows Android users to control their privacy, experience faster page loads and use less bandwidth. And it's FREE!

The new Disconnect app blocks thousands of unwanted trackers hidden in the websites you visit. Preventing this unwanted data collection not only protects your privacy and security, but accelerates page and app loads by up to 44% and reduces cellular data waste by up to 39% depending on your usage.

This free app is available for download in the Google Play Store and is compatible with Samsung Internet browser 4.0 and up. For more information about the Samsung Internet browser follow along here.

]]>The best Android and iOS privacy app is available FREE for the next 7 days ($40 value)!

Today we’re unveiling a powerful new privacy app exclusively for Samsung and Apple devices. Disconnect Pro empowers you to control your privacy and the performance of your device like never before.

Disconnect

]]>https://blog.disconnect.me/pro-app-for-samsung-apple/a6f949e4-0aff-421b-93a3-013d69714cddWed, 21 Sep 2016 13:23:00 GMTThe best Android and iOS privacy app is available FREE for the next 7 days ($40 value)!

Today we’re unveiling a powerful new privacy app exclusively for Samsung and Apple devices. Disconnect Pro empowers you to control your privacy and the performance of your device like never before.

Disconnect Pro Privacy and Performance

Disconnect Pro gives you the ability to block and visualize tracking across your entire device, protecting you inside all the apps and browsers you use. Preventing this unwanted data collection not only protects your privacy and security, but accelerates page and app loads by up to 44%, reduces cellular data waste by up to 39% and increases your battery life depending on your usage. Our Pro app makes your entire Samsung or Apple device safer, faster, and better!

Disconnect Pro for Samsung also shows you what apps are the source of privacy invasive tracking. This unique feature is exclusive to our Pro app for Samsung.

Since we do not make money serving you ads or collecting your data in our app, we charge a one time fee of $40 for this valuable product but for the next week (until September 28, 2016) we are offering users Disconnect Pro free. Get it now!

]]>Ever wondered who's tracking you behind your back in apps and webpages on your iPhone or iPad? Now you can see! Our brand new Tracker Spotlight feature allows you to view the trackers invisibly collecting information about your online activity. Tracker Spotlight is integrated into our Premium iOS app and]]>https://blog.disconnect.me/free-tracker-spotlight-on-ios/0d77e08a-5030-4982-9e6f-29f569c1e5bfMon, 12 Sep 2016 19:38:49 GMTEver wondered who's tracking you behind your back in apps and webpages on your iPhone or iPad? Now you can see! Our brand new Tracker Spotlight feature allows you to view the trackers invisibly collecting information about your online activity. Tracker Spotlight is integrated into our Premium iOS app and shows you who is tracking you in realtime and over periods of time.

Tracker Spotlight is free to use and upgradeable to our award-winning Premium protection, which blocks thousands of unwanted trackers. Preventing this unwanted data collection not only protects your privacy and security, but accelerates page and app loads by up to 44%, reduces cellular data waste by up to 39%, and extends your battery life. Premium also offers Secure Wi-Fi mode, which encrypts all your connections to defend against wireless eavesdroppers and other threats.

Unlike browser specific content blockers, Disconnect Premium allows you to block and visualize tracking across your entire device, and protects you inside all the apps and browsers you use so our Premium app makes your entire iOS device faster and safer. Disconnect Premium with Tracker Spotlight is available for install exclusively in the App Store. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/disconnect-best-blocking-award/id935480186?ls=1&mt=8